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1907.  [[Issue?]] 3. Monday- at Baddeck
Scientific American New York
30 Mar 1907.

New French Aeroplanes
Santos Dumont, Capt. Ferber, and several other French experimenters have been hard at work during the past winter building new aeroplanes with which to compete for the many prizes now offered. The illustrations published herewith show two of the new aeroplanes - those of Santos Dumont and M. Delagrange. The former aeroplane was described briefly in a recent issues of the SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN.
[[Image: Front and Rear Views of Santos Dumont's New Aeroplane in Which Thin Wood Sheets Form the Supporting Surfaces. Note the peculiar propeller with spoon-shaped blades which pulls the machine along on its single wheel; also the placing of the combined horizontal and vertical rudders at the rear instead of in front, and the mounting of the motor on top of the plane.]]

As can be seen from the photograph, the long beam, which projected in front of his former aeroplane and carried the box-shaped rudder, is now placed at the rear of the planes. The motor is placed high in the middle of the structure, and carries a 66-inch propeller upon its crankshaft, while the operator sits upon a small saddle below and front of the motor. The new aeroplane is to have a 100-horse-power, 16-cylinder, water-cooled engine, which will weigh with its accessories about 260 pounds, or 73 pounds more than the 50-horsepower motor. 
The weight of the machine itself is some 66 pounds less than the weight of Santos Dumont's former machine, which weighed complete, with a 50-horse-power motor, about 460 pounds. The new machine, equipped with a 50-horse-power, 8-cylinder motor as shown in the illustrations, weighs just under 400 pounds, or, with M. Dumont on board, a little over 500. The planes are 36 1/2 long by about 2 feet wide, which gives a total supporting surface of about 146 square feet. The load carried per square foot will be from 3 to 3 1/2 pounds, which is rather high and will accordingly make necessary a speed of over 50 miles an hour before the machine will lift. The chief novelty in the construction of the new aeroplane is the [illegible] of mahogany instead of bamboo rods. The hori [[text missing]]

with steel wire. The material used is light varnished cloth, which is stretched over curved wooden ribs in the usual manner. The rear planes are connected together by three vertical planes, which are intended to assure the stability of the machine and to keep it moving forward in a straight line. Back of the middle one of these planes is placed the rudder, which is suitably connected to the steering gear arranged beside the operator. The rear planes are carried on a small pneumatic-tired wheel, which can be turned in any direction, which the front planes are mounted upon a framework of steel tubing supported upon two wheels through the intermedium of shock-absorbing springs. The front and rear planes are connected together by steel tubes and are braced with wire. 
In the middle of the forward planes, on a suitable bed, is placed the motor, a seat for the operator, the steering and control levers, and, on the end of a long beam some 9 feet forward, the horizontal rudder, which is also made up of two planes having a total surface of 7 square meters (75.34 square feet).
At the rear part of this bed is placed an 8-cylinder motor of 50-horse-power, which makes 1,500 R.P.M. The propeller is fastened upon the motor shaft, and has a diameter of 2.1 meters (6.89 feet) and a 1 meter (3.28 foot) pitch. The blades are of cast aluminium, and are riveted to the arms of steel tubing which screw into a steel hub. The propeller is so constructed that all its parts produce traction except the central part about the hub, which undergoes merely a bending strain. It develops a thrust of 150 kilogrammes (330 pounds) when the motor is turning up 1,400 R.P.M. and developing 40 horse-power. From previous experiments of M. Voisin (the constructor) with this type of aeroplane mounted on [[text missing]]

photograph, and the tubes connecting the front and the rear planes were bent. It is claimed that the accident was due to improper assembling when the machine was put together on the site of the test. M. Delagrange, its sculptor inventor, will have it reconstructed and then make further trials. 

Motoring in the Desert. 
Motor cars are now taking the camel's place for travel in the Eastern Desert. They are found to be a less difficult means of conveyance as well as more economical one. Cairo, Egypt, has four times as many automobiles this year as last, and the number is rapidly increasing. As there are no hills to climb, the cheaper machines of small horse-power and most generally used. The mining department of the ministry of finance is constructing roads for police service in the Eastern Desert, and the progress has been considerable. An excellent track of ninety miles has been completed between Edfou and Beza. From Beza it will branch to the north and south.
The department of mines has a new type of motor built for use in the desert, which has proved very satisfactory. The longest day's trip in the Eastern Desert was 148 miles, which was made last summer. During the last trip made by the mining department's tricar, 243 miles were covered in four days, during which time the ordinary work of inspecting the roads and mines was carried on. Three-wheel motor cars are more successful for desert travel than motor cycles, which cause a great strain on the rider. Ordinary pneumatic tires are used, protected by leather and iron-studded bands. Water is only necessary at 50-mile intervals. 
The Port Said Motor Car Company started service recently running to the Arab village. Each car ac-[text missing] 

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